Raised by two aesthetes in an historic 1899 home in Hartford, Connecticut, Audrey Rose Smith had an art-filled childhood. Her father was a preservation architect, and her mom ran an artwork gallery, so their house was consistently hosted by artists and their work. It is solely logical that Audrey later grew to become a gallerist herself.
It additionally makes the sense that she swiftly falls in love with a fellow inventive. Solely eight months after assembly Ecuadorian photographer and designer Vicente Muñoz, the pair collectively bought their prewar Clinton Hill condominium in Brooklyn. They married quickly after, partnering in matrimony in addition to actual property with out wanting again.
Eight years later, the couple has cultivated a tight-knit and like-minded neighborhood within the neighborhood. Flip-of-the-century buildings by architects like William Tubby, Montrose Morris, and Ebenezer L. Roberts pepper the streets the place they incessantly run into buddies and colleagues. “It seems like an artwork world sitcom,” Audrey quips. “The farmers market is actually thrilling.” —Morgan Goldberg
“I consider a home as a sophisticated machine through which one thing new breaks down day-after-day: a lamp, a faucet, a lock, an electrical socket, the boiler, the fridge…. However after we can neglect in regards to the duty of steady upkeep, we really feel pleased. Then the opposite aspect of the coin, against the obligations of possession, is sheer gratitude.”
That was the pondering of Álvaro Siza, the good Portuguese architect who, on the age of 89, continues to encourage a youthful technology. Of their area, design duo Eugenia Rolando and Federico Patacchiola of Paros Architettura—a pair in life in addition to at work—begin from these very phrases to create subtly ingenious locations.
A primary instance of their work is Casa Costantino, a small however elegant Rome condominium. The constructing, a Nineteen Sixties construction within the Ostiense district, is a stone’s throw from the well-known Garbatella space. The 700-square-foot condominium is all trendy, and because of Paros Architettura, it has been remodeled from an outdated household house stuffed with recollections right into a light-flooded setting with a up to date really feel. —Ludovica Stefan
Stéphane Monnet and Jeroen Dijkstra both have good luck, good timing, or just the great sense to know when one thing simply feels proper. Once they have been condominium looking in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Stéphane was in search of out distinctly European environment—since he was shifting from Toronto—they usually discovered them in a one-bedroom property, downtown. “With all of its prospers, large home windows, and open areas, it was an ideal match,” says Stéphane. “It was already snatched up, however that deal fell by way of on the final minute.”
Set inside a constructing from the Eighties, dealing with a busy avenue on one finish and a verdant courtyard on the opposite, their house has been just lately restored to mirror what existed method again when. Intricate crown molding sprawled throughout the ceilings whereas wainscoting lined the decrease half of the partitions, and that artistry was painted in shades of inexperienced to distinction the white in between. Home windows stretched over their contrasting out of doors views, and loads of gentle streamed in. The couple additionally had a personal balcony to share, in case they ever needed a more in-depth take a look at the birds, whose nice music woke them within the morning. —Kelly Dawson
